Fire-escape



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

D. R. LYMER.

PIRE ESCAPE.

No. 290.630. Paented Deo. 18, 1883.

` N. PETERS. mwmmgmpm, wnmngm uc.

(No Model.)

` Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. D. R. CLYMER.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 290,680. Patented Dec. 18, 1883.

N. PETER Pnolu'umugnphur, wnmnggon. D, l:4

l-ATnNT ENCE@ DANIEL It. CLYMER, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

FiRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 290,630, dated December 18, i883, Application inea June 1a,V less. (No moan.)

T0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL R. CLYMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Reading, county of Berks, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This improvement relates to fire escapes concealed within and to be used in the interior of the building.

The obj ect of the improvement is to provide a safe and ready mode of escape from a burning building, the escape being so arranged that by a series of passages, ladders, and doors (concealed when not in use) descent may be made from the highest building, story by story, without risk of life, broken limbs, or of being deterredby the height of descent from attempting to reach the ground.

The above objects are attained by the adoption of my improvement, as shown in the drawings herewith, forming part of this specification, in which similar parts are marked by letters of similar character, Figure l, Sheet l, representing in perspective two iioors and part of the wall of a building with my improvement in place therein ready for use. Fig. 2, Sheet 2, representing a section longitudinally through the center of one of the wellholes, showing the flre-escapeladder packed out'of the way and resting upon the ceilingdoor beneath, the latter securedby hooks and staples, both ceiling and iioor doors shown closed. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is also alongitudinal section through the well, showing the floor-door removed and the ceiling-door dropped,with a portion of the ladder suspended in the well. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a cross-section through the well-hole just in front of the ladder, showing a mode of securing the lower end of the ladder by a simple ring and pin. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is also a similar cross-section, showing a different mode of securing the ladder.

A represents one of the walls of the building; A, the wash-board; A2, the cornice; B, floor-piece; C, front trimmer; C', rear trimmer; D, iioor; E, ceiling; F, well-holes; G, iioor-door; G', handle to the same; H, ceilingdoor; I, hinges to same; J, staples; K, hooks. to secure the ceiling-door in place, L, an escape-ladder hung within the well by the upper rung, M, and having the usual rungs, M. At the lower ends of the ladder, and connected therewith at each side, are eyes N, chain O, rings P, or buttons S, and beneath the iloor,and suitably secured, either a bar, It, with bent ends R', or staples T, for the purpose of securing the ladder thereto and toprevent the swaying back and forth of the same. V are openings cut through the iioor above the bent ends R of the bar R or over the staples T, and are hidden from view when not in use by floorblocks V', with handles V.

Notwithstanding the number of fire-escapes which have been invented, there are but few comparatively that are in use. The fact is, that unless inclosed few persons can be induced to use them, and, if inclosed and permanently' attached to the building, they become eX- crescences projectiugbeyond the building-line, detracting from the appearance of the building, and available only to the occupants of the same who chance to be lodged or employed on the side where they are located.

To rob the average mind of all fear as to the use of re-escapes,they must be located within and not exterior to the walls of the building, made easy of access, and the continuous descent at any point not of an intimidating height. Vhen it is understood that escapes of such character are provided,the most timid will remain cool and ready to avail themselves of the means of safety placed within their reach.

.My improved lire-escape is more particularly adapted to private residences and to hotels where the control of the building is in the hands of a person or persons who can lay down and enforce regulations governing the IOO every room in a building occupied as a working, living, or sleeping apartment (according to the use to which it is to be applied) I place one or more well-holes, F, in size about eighteen inches by twenty-four inches or more in the clear on the plan, forming the same by a front trimmer, C, and a rear trimmer, C', in combination with the iloor-j oist B, the former of the same depth as the joist, the latter the thickness of the ceiling-door, less in depth. These wells are preferably placed at such points on the floor-plan of the room as would absolutely not be obstructed by heavy articles in the furnishing of the same. The floor is worked or laid up to within one inch of the inner face of the well, and the space thus left is subsequently filled out with a door of the same material, laid to correspond therewith; is fitted so as to be easily removed. To facilitate removal, I cut through the central portion of the door two mortises about one and onehalf inch by three-eighths of an inch in size, and about six inches apart, through which I pass a strap of leather or of saddle-girth webbing, and sew or rivet the ends together beneath the face of the door, leaving` the handle thus formed of sufficient length,when raised above the face of the door,to admit the hand. Vhen not in use, the strap or web is pressed through the mortise, so as to lie iiat upon the door, and thus offer but a trifling obstruction beneath the carpet. I prefer to place these wells near the washboards, and to place upon the same a mark;l readily recognized to indicate the position of the same. The ceiling or bottom of the well will be closed by a door, H, permanently hung therein by hinges I, secured to the door, and the rear trimmer, C. A space or boxing will be provided in the rear C', and the door so hung that when it is dropped in a perpendicular position, as shown in Fig. 3,

the rear of the door will enter within said space, as shown. The front of the door is provided with one or more staples, J and pivoted within the well are hooks K,whereby the door,when closed, as in Fig. 2, is retained in place. This door is also iitted loosely in place, is lathed over, (the lath cut even with the dooredges,) plastered, papered, or finished to correspond with the ceiling, as though no wellhole was provided therein.

Vithin the well-holes, as described, I suspend, in any convenient and suitable manner, a ilexible ladder of wire rope, chain, or links, preferably ofthe latter form. The ladder may be suspended in the well at the rear next to the wall, or at the front of the well. I prefer to suspend it at the end farthest from the wall. Vhen not in use, it will be rolled, folded, or doubled up, so as to lie within the well upon the ceiling-door. The ladders are made of such length that, when hanging free, their lower ends, or the last rung of the same, shall be within easy reach of the iioor, immediately beneath the well-opening. At this point of the ladder iiexible chains O are attached by eyes N thereto, terminating with rings l? or swivel -buttons S, for a purpose disclosed farther on. The wells being provided, the bed-cord or sheets knotted together would improvise a safe means of descent from room to room; but I give preference to a ladder securely placed in each well, and so constructed and arranged that on releasing the ceilingdoor it should drop with the same, and open out ready for use. Persons who are trying to escape from a burning building will hesitate, and, hesitating, are lost before they will attempt to descend from the height of three or more stories to the ground, either by a loose dangling ladder or by an inclosed well extending the saine distance in a direct line, but who would not stop an instant to calculate chances when they knew their landing-point was comparatively but a few feet below them. For this reason I do not place the wells directly beneath each other, but require the opening in the floorbclow to be set some three or more feet to one side ofthe opening in the iioor above. In the landing-floor thus provided, and immediately under the ladder as suspended, and in line with the rungs of the same, openings V are cut through the ioor D, as shown in Figs. l, 4, and 5, and a flat bar of iron, R, having its ends Itworked down, rounded, and bent somewhat toward the ceiling, is secured beneath the floor, so that the ends R shall clear about one-half inch the eXtreme ends of the openings V, or, as shown in Fig. 5, staples T are set beneath the iioor in openings V. In the first case the rings F on the ends of the chains 0 are slipped over the bar ends R', and in the latter case the swivel-button is passed through the staple, the intention in both cases being to give stability to the ladder, and therefore more confidence to the user of the same.

The operation of theinvention is as follows: In hotels the guests are instructed where to look for the wells and the manner of using the same, while in private dwellings it is understood that the inmates would know the use of the same. The rooms would be carpeted and furnished as usual, the carpet being left IOO IIO

loose or only slightly tacked in the vicinity of i i 5 the well-holes. A system of electric or tube signals would be adopted for hotels and workshops, and might be adapted to private dwellings, by which the occupants would be notified of their danger and the location of the iire. The occupant of a room would know at once whether the fire was beneath his room or not. If clear below, he would throw back the carpet, remove the floor-door G, unhook the ceiling-door H, and, placing his foot upon the ceiling door, press upon it` and break the plaster connection of the same, when the doorY Y would fall, releasing the ladder, when he would descend into the room below. If there were ladder to said bar ends or staples, as described. He would then, unless some one had preceded him, repeat the operation upon each successive story or door reached in his descent until the ground floor was gained and he was free from the building, in each case followed or preceded by the occupants of each door, and the rooms would thus be successively cleared without risl; oflife. In case the signal should indicate that the fire was beneath the quarter occupied, the occupant would pass into the hall, and, without attempting a Staircase, pass on the same level to a part of the building clear of fire' beneath the rooms, and, entering therein, pass down through the wells, as before described, and thus escape.

Having shown the construction, arrangements, adaptation, and desirability of my ireescape, I desire to secure by Letters Patent the following claims thereon:

1. In combination with a building to'which they may be adapted, and with the iioors, joists, trimmers, and ceilings thereof, a series of well-holes, F, provided with removable Hoor-doors G and ceiling-doors H, hung on hinges I, and secured by hooks K and staples J, or their equivalent, and, concealed within the well thus arranged, a flexible ladder, L, permanently hung therein, the whole constructed, arranged, and adapted to be used substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a building, a series of well-holes, F, piercingthrough iloor and ceiling, as described, and provided with floor-doors G, ceiling-doors H, and a flexible ladder, L, permanently secured therein, the said wells being placed from two to more feet horizontally on door plan to one side of the well opening above or beneath the same, whereby the descent is madevfrom story to story on an unbroken landing, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the landing-floor of a fire-escape well and its ladder, as described, the openings V, caps V, bar R R or staples T, the chains O, loops or rings I?, or swivel-buttons S, whereby the ladder is steadied between doors, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with nre-escape wells provided with door G, the door H, connected by the hinges I to the rear trimmer, C', said door being extended rearward into a space provided therefor, whereby said door, when released, will drop into a vertical position without crushing the ceiling, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

DANIEL B. CLYMER.

Vitn esses THoMAs P. KINsEY, GARRETT B. STEvENs. 

